Is It Spring Yet?

We used to have a weather man on t.v. that I liked.
By the name of Bob, he would give the report and end by saying, "But if you really want to know what the weather is...look out your window".

When it's Spring Time In The Rockies it is as unpredictable as a summer day in the Alaskan tundra.
Clear, Rain, Snow, Windy, Rain, Cold, Warm, then start the rotation again-and that is all before noon-in July!!
So Spring time where I am now isn't all that bad by comparison.

Spring brings out the productive spirit in us...be it indoors or out...
We plan big plans. A vegetable garden this year, a flower garden in the front, time to do the needed repairs on the house...

One day it's shirt sleeve weather and we are SO THERE!
Out side puttering in the yard...
you might feel the urge to mow...

Or rake the yard...

You have your eye's peeled for the proverbial bird of spring ~The Robin~you spot them and think "Oh yeah Baby~It's coming!!! Spring! Glorious Spring!!!"

Then you wake up to something like this...

The next day it may have all melted off and you can get out to try to revive this poor lawn that has been buried for 3-5 months with snow in all it's glorious stages.

You look at it and wonder if it will ever really come back?!

So you rake, mow, fertilize, thatch in the hopes that the next storm helps it become the green grass you cuss through the Summer for having to mow all the time...

It is a little disconcerting that the weeds next to the grass is plush and green...

But you hope on because~

Remember?!

You have seen them-you know they are here to encourage you in your efforts...

The Robin!! Who's breast is a deep red, and plump, all of which is a sign that the year will be prosperous and good.

I think...

Then again...it could mean more snow for a bit longer...

But no matter...

Snow is water, water is always a good thing.

We have tasted the warmth of this Spring, we have seen the robin's, we have fussed over the lawns and flower beds in preparation for the coming year.

And so when we look out the window to see what the weather is really doing.

We can still content ourselves with pouring over the gardening book's or planting the seed's and watching them start to grow, or it might be that we are cleaning out a closet or picking out a wall we might like to paint ~ the possibilities are endless...

Embroidery

Back in the day women knew how to do so many different types of handwork, and they did an amazing job!!
The huge table cloth pictured below is just one of the kinds of things done by hand~yes that's right~this piece is done by hand!!

Isn't it amazing?! Can you just imagine the hours it took?!
I'm glad she took that time! It gives me a lot of pleasure~but I don't think as much pleasure as it gave her.
The sense of accomplishment pulse the usefulness...wow! I can only imagine.

As I look around my home and the homes of family and friends, I simply love to look at the things they or someone else made by hand or antiques and family heirlooms they have collected and treasure.

When you make things by hand there is so much more than time that goes into it~there are thoughts, wishes, hopes, dreams and most of all love!!

Honey's Aunt M. (who by the way is in her mid 80's), tells me she remembers the afternoon's when her mother, Grandmother and other's would gather in the afternoons for their embroidery group. They would talk and laugh and cry and work on the things for their homes and for gifts for others.

She said, "Oh, everyone knew how to do things like that. You had to. You couldn't just go out and buy it."

" It cost a lot and people just plain didn't have ten cents to spend on embroidery when it came down to the dime being put toward the meat you needed for dinner that cost twenty-five cents, or the embroidery piece you wanted to make~not when you only made $1.50 every two week's!!"

" So you walked to the store, bought the meat, went home and made your own pattern and went to work."

When Aunt M. was a teenager she made some things that she has given to us.

Below is one she made the pattern for, because she didn't have the pennies needed to buy stamped patterns at the "five & dime".

My Grandma Verral enjoyed getting together with the ladies to do quilting, play cards and to do handwork...I was given this table cloth along with 4 napkins that she had made...

I love how she did the basket and the handle...I have to admit that I am not really sure how to do those stitches and have them look as good as hers...

A friend of my parents (MissyOliver~is what I called her, because I couldn't say her name). She made this little table cloth and the matching napkins...

Aunt M. made dish towel sets when she was a teenager and for many years after, to give as gifts for wedding's, new neighbor's, old neighbors and family...

She found two Set's that she had forgotten about, at the time we were moving into our new house and she brought them as a house warming gift the day she and Honey's Mom came to see the house and have lunch...

I use them for show, because I don't want to ruin them...

I remember that dish towels, pillow cases and hankies were the first things I learned how to iron.

Not that they needed to be ironed but because I needed the practice...

I've been known to have made a few sets of dish towels for gifts and trousseau's...I've made and worn out a few sets myself and it was time to make a new set...

So I set out and found an old pattern in a new book. Traced on the pattern. Chose the floss from my extra floss stash and went to work...

I worked on it throughout the day and because it is a small pattern I was able to finish it easily and still get other things done.


I have embroidered for quite a few year's now and I still enjoy it. It seems like it goes in phases.

The knitting phase, crochet phase, sewing phase, quilting phase, embroidery phase, cross stitch phase...

I asked Aunt M. how they used to color their embroidery work when she was young, she told me and I made this pillow a few year's ago...

Then I decided I needed to get a Little more fancy and asked one of my sister's to please teach me how to do Brazilian Embroidery (Aunt M. called it wrapped embroidery).

So I gave that a try...

The shiny floss she taught me with is a little hard for me to find so I just use the regular embroidery floss that I buy at Ben Franklin Craft store...

And now that it seems the embroidery phase is lurking about, I have a yoke that needs some decorative touches...

Now what pattern? I think it will be Brazilian...maybe pastel pink and greens...

And while I'm working on this I am lining up things to be made for Christmas~

I know, I know~but when its handmade you have to start early, plus it gives you things to do and keep your mind and hands busy for a good ling time...

Spoiled Lil Ol Me...

Honey bought/fronted me a second camera~a CANON~it is a big camera that takes huge pixel pictures~
Honey is so awesome!!!!
(He will say he isn't~but everyone who knows him, knows he is).

I needed to play with it when I had some time and wouldn't get interrupted~I tend to lose my train of thought easily you see.

So while Honey slept I read my trusty new manual. Pulled out the new camera and tried out the lens' first...

From the same spot, to see what the ranges of the lens' would be. For how close I can get to how far I can get...

First lens-close;



First lens far; (Its the micro lens)

Oh dadgumit!!!

I just noticed how small I made these pictures-sorry!!

I hope you don't need a magnifying glass to see them.

Second lens close;

Second lens far;

This one is from my canon~please don't underestimate the size with the quality~my little canon can do this from the same point~

This is the close;

And this is the far;

Ok now that you have survived the testing of how wide and tight the CANON and canon can go...lets see if I can make pictures with big C...

yea-ok-nice corner. No, that isn't what I was trying to do...

Again a little trouble. Not the Princess in the cupboard, that focus again...

Ok, getting a little better now...She was so funny, she kept waiting for the flash.

Motion shots give me heartburn so I thought I'd start with sort of motion--yep--heartburn.

Ok my moving target-er-model-has had enough, and she is off and running.

So,

Hello cow, whatcha doin?

hello happy little Daisey's...

I can see that I will need to practice more on moving subjects...(evil laugh) buaahhh ha ha...you thought the family scattered to the far reaches of the universe before...

Oh Honnney...kiyads...where arrre you???

JOy JoY jOY

joy-the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.
Joy is the feeling of grinning inside.

What brings a smile to our face and makes our hearts want our feet to do this?

Maybe it's Spring and the first flowers,

For me, I get a little giddy when I can get family members to really model for me, instead of scattering to the far reaches of the universe as soon as they see me coming with my camera-and yes I do pack my trusty lil camera most every place with me. For the just in cases.

Honey grew up playing in the barn behind their home~along with over half the town's boy population. Those memories bring him smiles and joy,

I know I'm weird, but I really like this little house.

I wish it lived at our yard and I would use it for my Gramma play house...do we ever out grow wanting a play house?

Because you should know that Gramma's are only antique little girls.

But isn't it a cool little place?!

I love this picture!!
Can you see it in their eye's that they are dancing and grinning from the inside all the way out!!

They brought the boat up to sleep in Honey's garage for the winter and came to get it this week-end. They were very excited to be taking it home--I am sure her heart was doing the snoopy dance...

Every one was excited to be getting ready to take it home~

They spent a lot of the summer last year as a family out on the lake, it is a source of a lot of family time, friend's time and just plain makes them happy, happy, happy...

This is part of why it makes them so happy~

Pictures and home movies made my Mom happy, they make me happy and I think I might be passing that on to the next generation...yeeehaaa!

So many things can bring that giddy feeling to us, might be red and shinny things;Might be soft little cousin's, who need big hugs and lots of loves;

They say you have to be happy with your self before you can be happy with others.

We spend the most time with ourselves~so it only stand to reason that we should like to spend time with us...and who else knows how silly we really want to be some times...

Being with the ones you love is the best way I can think of to find joy, smiles and happiness...

Joy is the feeling of grinning inside~

May you find the things that make you want to dance like snoopy, smile til your cheek's hurt and grow warm from the all the grinning going on inside yourself!!!